Batam DIY guide for Malaysian ( Updated version 2017)

15:06
Jia Ying
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Batam Island, an island which is not far away from Singapore , is well-known for Singaporean to have a short escape during the short holiday or weekend.
I never been to Batam before. What I heard the most from my friends around me about the Batam island-- " nothing to see lah" , " No attractions lo", " Just go and relax" .....
Ok, never expected too much, but still curious about this island, the island that I haven't leave my footprint.
When I did my research about Batam travel guide, most of them are written by Singaporean.
Curiosity came into my mind~~ " Is Malaysians not interested to visit Batam Island? "
Well, after my 2 days 1 night trip to Batam with my family, I think I know the answer.

Here's in this post I summarise my 2D1N trip into few points and tips, especially for Malaysian.

Note:
Note that the seaport tax is IDR115k or RM40, must be paid at the counter in Batam before boarding the ferry. The ticket bought from online didn't include Indonesian's seaport tax. So, spare your Indonesia rupiah money.
For Malaysia side, you not need to pay any extra tax before boarding. After book the ticket online, exchange the ticket in the counter in Malaysia. They will give you both go and return ticket. Keep the return ticket, and later show to the ferry counter in Batam to redeem the ticket for returning trip.

2. Taxi in Batam
The most convenience and budget public transport will be taxi, especially if you have a group of 3-4 person. Beware of the scam. Most of the taxi will offer a higher price, especially to the tourist, you need to do a little bit of bargain and negotiation.
I used Bahasa Malaysia throughout my trip in Batam. It's seem ok and understandable for them. Here's some price guideline that I paid for my taxi for your reference.

Tips: Make a reasonable bargain and don't over bargain. Don't spoil your pleasure of travel and it's more important to travel safe.

3. Accomodation in Batam

After some research on the accommodation in Batam, I chose the hotel near to Nagoya ( aka Lubuk Raja) . I stayed at Hana Hotel, which is located near to Nagoya Shopping Mall. Here's the website of the hotel. ( http://www.hanahotel-batam.com/ )

Even it's 3-star hotel, most of the basic toiletries is available. The breakfast included is much more than expected with the price paid.

4. Shopping Mall in Batam

One of the biggest and best shopping mall in Batam- Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall, according to what I research from some website before going.
Don't expect this shopping mall will be something like in JB or Singapore. I would say this is just a very normal shopping mall.
As for Malaysian, I found that most of the price of the thing is almost similar like in JB, not very cheap, but a bit lower if compare to JB.
I went during weekday. There are some promotion offered by restaurant in Shopping Mall, which is quite cheap -such as IDR 8800 ( approx RM3 ) for a decent meal per person.

5. Food in Batam

You have to try some Indonesian cuisine when you are in Batam. In the Nagoya Shopping Mall, I tried Mie Goreng Jawa in Warung Cobain (Ground Floor inside the mall)

If you go the top floor of Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall, you can find few restaurants offered promotion price for their meal during weekday. Taste is ok, portion not very big and it's really cheap.

5. Place of attractions in Batam

I didn't plan to go any beach or seaside during my stay in Batam. Therefore, I chose to visit the remarkable bridge in Batam- Barelang Bridge.
It's a bit far from the Nagoya, about 40 minutes drive of journey.
There are positive and negative argument about whether worth to visit this bridge.
Overall, I went at the right time, before the sunset, which the scenery is beautiful together with the bridge.

After taking few picture with the bridge, I went to the seafood restaurant- 188 Citra Utama, which is just less than 5 minutes from the bridge.
This is really a good place to see the sunset, and in the same time enjoying your seafood feast.

There are a lot choice of massage centre around the Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall. I chose Reborn Massage (https://www.facebook.com/RebornBatam/ ) , which I got 30% discount due to weekday happy hour.
Do make appointment if you visit during the weekend.
I tried Balinese Body Massage for 1 hour, only IDR 84000 ( approx RM 26 ).
It's optional whether you want to give the tips to the therapist.

Hope the tips are useful in planning your trip to Batam, especially those depart from Johor Bahru.

Summary of my basic spending ( for 1 person) :

Ferry
ticket (JB-Batam-JB)

RM126

Accomodation
(1 night, include breakfast )

RM38

Transport
fees in Batam (Taxi)

IDR345k ÷4
= IDR 86.25k

Seaport
charge, Batam

IDR115k

Total Basic Spending : RM 227

Disclaimer: My Batam vacation is NOT a sponsored trip, I am NOT paid to advertise for anyone or any place.

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